OnePlus 13s Review: The 'S' Stands for Smaller, Smarter and Suave

By now, you must have heard the word ‘compact’ used in conjunction with ‘OnePlus 13s’ dozens of times. Yes, it’s getting on my nerves, also. Yes, the OnePlus 13s is a smaller, miniature variant of the OnePlus 13, where the company ‘cut’ some corners and ‘sized down’ to get a good balance of price and performance. It’s also the most intelligent of the OnePlus 13 line-up as it debuts the company’s AI Plus Mind, which can be activated with the Plus Key button or a three-finger swipe.

The OnePlus 13s goes back to the days of yesteryear. When smartphones were smaller, lasted longer, and could be used one-handed. For years, the only option was the Asus Zenfone, but it never made it over to the Indian shores. Now that pocket-friendly smartphones are back in style (yes, many more in the pipeline, including the Vivo X200 FE), and with OnePlus leading the brigade (with the Galaxy S25 crying in the background), are they worth the trade-offs in real estate?

I’ve been using the OnePlus 13s for a few weeks now, and I’ve been mainly impressed, although not wholly sold on the device. However, a day or two before writing this review, I was with a friend at a café. He’s been scouting for a new smartphone for weeks now and doesn’t want to give up on the ‘compact’ dream. After looking at the OnePlus 13s and using it a few times, and seeing his dreams of having the Vivo X200 Pro Mini launch in India disappear quicker than Max Verstappen driving down Silverstone, he’s becoming a convert.

Let’s dive in.

Yes, yes. Let’s overuse the word 'compact.' The OnePlus 13s does feel like a breath of fresh air in an otherwise tired and lazy smartphone industry. While the Galaxy S25 Edge from Samsung went on a diet, the OnePlus 13s somehow managed to trim its height. At 185g, the OnePlus 13s may seem a little hefty, but the company has done a good job of balancing out the weight across the device. It’s easy to hold, can be used one-handed with aplomb, and is pocket-friendly.

The bezels are thin, and the 6.32-inch AMOLED display, despite being smaller than we’re used to these days, is gorgeous.

One look at the dual-camera island and you’d be screaming iPhone! Yes, many have exclaimed, “the OnePlus 13s is just an iPhone running Android’, and they’d all be right. Yes, it has an LED flash and IR transmitter, but it does mimic Apple’s iPhone well.

One can argue that the design is polarising and deviates too much from the norm, but I’m all for a flatter profile if it means cramming in heftier batteries. The OnePlus 13s comes with a 5,850 mAh battery (the Galaxy S25 Edge pales in comparison with its 3,900 mAh battery), which is one of its stronger suits. I’ve managed to get over six and a half hours of screen-on-time (SoT) with ease. Battery anxiety is a thing of the past with the OnePlus 13s.

The Green Silk variant (exclusive to India) is a stunner, and the wobble is minimal thanks to a camera island that doesn’t protrude much. The back is made out of glass (frosted glass finish), and has a matte texture on the sides.

Okay, enough about the good on the design front. Let’s discuss one significant change that has been introduced to the OnePlus 13s. You’ve probably already read about it, but the alert slider is gone. Rest in peace, dear alert slider. You are being sorely missed. The OnePlus 13s ditches the alert slider for the Plus Key, which in turn launches the AI Plus Mind (which, frankly, I didn’t really care much about). It’s akin to Apple iPhone’s Action Button. With the Plus Key, you can set it to change the ringer, launch the camera, toggle the flashlight, or perform many other tasks.

The other thing is that this Plus Key only has a single long press. It would have been better if you double-tap it for another function.

I hardly use the fingerprint module in smartphones, since Face Unlock is super convenient. But with all smartphones, I do test out the fingerprint module. The OnePlus 13s features an optical fingerprint module that is positioned too low for convenient use. Then, the smartphone is limited to an IP65 ingress protection rating, which, considering the device's price, is a significant oversight.

Nonetheless, that display is gorgeous and an absolute stunner.

The gorgeous AMOLED panel

The OnePlus 13s gets a much smaller 6.32-inch AMOLED panel, with a 120Hz refresh rate, Dolby Vision, and true-to-life colours. It’s vibrant and crisp, and the colours do pop. With its thin bezels, the smartphone provides an immersive experience when consuming content. It’s got a 1.5K resolution (2640x1216), and with Aqua Touch mode, you can use it even when your fingers are wet. The only downside is that this display doesn’t get very bright. Still, I had no qualms using this outdoors in the bright New Delhi sunlight.

Top-notch performance

Yes, the OnePlus 13s features the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset as the regular OnePlus 13. With 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage, performance is unparalleled. It’s a fast smartphone and can handle any tasks with aplomb. The OnePlus 13s did get warm on occasion, but that’s the case with most smartphones. In the sweltering 45-degree heat, most phones succumb to the heat and become too hot to handle. With that said, the OnePlus 13s does a decent job of heat dissipation, especially when compared to the Galaxy S25 Edge, which can become uncomfortably hot when out and about.

The smartphone is decently good for gaming, but I noticed two things. Firstly, the phone got warmer than it should, even when gaming indoors. Secondly, and this is something that has plagued OnePlus devices for a while, is that they tend to throttle the performance aggressively (mainly to prevent overheating).

Excellent battery life

As mentioned above, the battery life is fantastic. My only complaint is that OnePlus didn’t opt for the new-age silicon-carbon technology. Still, with a 5,850 mAh battery, I managed to eke out over a day’s worth of battery life on a single charge. There’s the standard 80W charging tech, and to juice it up, you’d need just under 50 minutes.

It’s all about that infusion of AI

Yes, the OnePlus 13s is all about that juicy new infusion of AI. The AI Plus Mind is the company's new offering. It can collate photos, notes, screenshots, and more in a single location. Simply press and hold the Plus Key, and this data will get saved to the Mind Space. With the help of machine learning, relevant information can be extracted. You can summarise information in an easy-to-read format. Furthermore, you can save content from dozens of other apps, and the system will understand and organise it.

There’s also AI VoiceScribe, which can record, summarise and translate audio across 20+ languages. Then there is the AI Dialer, which adds real-time call translation and summaries. A revamped Notes app is also there.

With this and more, OnePlus has signalled that it’s ready to integrate AI and make using a smartphone a more pleasant and efficient experience. It’s becoming a jack of all trades with AI, and that’s the direction I’d like to see continue. Having one flashy feature wouldn’t have done much for the smartphone and company, and hence, this approach is much better.

Where’s my ultra-wide camera?

Frankly, my dear, I want an ultra-wide camera. At a recent event in New Delhi, I asked a group of fellow journalists and PR professionals what they preferred: telephoto or ultra-wide. The latter won the vote! With the OnePlus 13S, you’re getting a dual-camera setup. There’s the primary 50MP Sony IMX890 sensor and 50MP 2X telephoto. Yes, the OnePlus 13s omits an ultra-wide sensor. Probably a case of not having enough space to cram in one, but still.

The primary camera provided excellent photos in good daylight conditions. It’s got vibrant colours, sharp details, and high contrast. The colours are true to life, which I liked. The photos I shared on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) got a lot of good feedback.

My main issue was with the 2X telephoto lens. It lacks optical image stabilisation (OIS). Not to have OIS in a sensor (and you only have two) on a smartphone priced above Rs 50,000, it's a huge miss. I missed it especially during those low-light scenarios.

With that said, the portrait photo I took of a friend was the one that received the most likes. The smartphone performed well in edge detection, although the overall photo appearance was somewhat flat. Still, with minimal noise, the photos were ready to be shared on WhatsApp and across social media profiles. If you want to step it up a notch, I’d suggest getting the OnePlus 13, which features a great camera and Hasselblad tuning.

Still, the OnePlus 13s’ cameras aren’t bad and are reliable, for the most part.

Verdict: The ‘compact’ phone to buy?

In the world of stale smartphone slabs, the OnePlus 13s is a breath of fresh air. Its design is its differentiator, and for those who want pocketable smartphones, this is the smartphone leading the pack. While the Galaxy S25 from Samsung is available, the OnePlus 13s outperforms it in many key areas, except in the camera department.

With a barrage of ‘compact’ smartphones arriving in H2 2025, I can’t give the OnePlus 13s an outright recommendation. In my opinion, it’s another winner for the company, and I do like the direction they’re taking. A few too many compromises, though, make it a bitter pill to swallow, considering the price is upward of Rs 50,000. OxygenOS 15 is fantastic, and the performance is top-notch. That display, despite its small size, is gorgeous.

Yes, I’m not a fan of OnePlus going all iPhone on the Android community. Thankfully, unlike Samsung, they managed to cram in a much beefier battery.

Currently, the OnePlus 13s is a compact flagship that stands out, albeit more for the lack of competition than for being a 10/10 recommendation. For what it’s worth, the OnePlus 13s knows its target audience well. It’s a compact smartphone without all the bells and whistles, and there is a market out there for it. The basic fundamentals of a ‘smaller’ smartphone have been nailed.

I’m cautiously optimistic about compact smartphones going forward as the OnePlus 13s has proven to be a pocket rocket for the most part. If you're considering getting the OnePlus 13s, I’d recommend waiting for a discount and snagging it for under Rs 50,000, or, if you’re lucky, under Rs 45,000.